The House & Senate remain in Conference Committee working out their differences between the two separate health care reform bills. One primary issue is on the proposed taxation of the so-called "cadillac plans", which the unions oppose stating they obtained these plans through collective bargaining, negotiating away higher wages and other benefits, and a new tax would be unfair and a double hit on their members.  Another proposed tax issue refers to company (employer) based prescription drug plans.  These plans receive a 28% tax-free federal subsidy in exchange for keeping these retirees enrolled and out of the Medicare Part D Drug Plan, which, in effect, saves the government money.  Retirees remaining on these drug  plans provided by their former employers have saved big dollars on medications, and don't have to worry about being dumped into the Medicare Part D Plan, and falling into the "doughnut hole", whereby they stand to incur thousands of additional dollars in drug costs. Retirees enrolled in these types of plans should contact their member in Congress and their Senators, asking that they fight to remove this harmful language from the final bill.  Tell them the elimination of the tax deduction for these federal subsidies for company based drug plans would destroy the incentive to keep these plans, and possibly force many retirees into Medicare Part D, which is not good for the retiree or the solvency of the Medicare Trust Fund.  NARVRE will continue to watch this reconciliation process, urging the assigned conferees to finally close the "doughnut hole" as quickly as possible, and implement the negotiation of all drug prices with the pharmaceutical companies.  Narvre's toll-free numbers for the House  and Senate: 1-877-668-3864 & 1-877-668-3866.  

Last December, the House passed H.R. 2847, or the "Jobs for Main Street" bill, which will contain funding of $48 billion for transportation, including $8.4 billion for rail transit, and $800 million for Amtrak.  Research has shown this type of federal funding, similar to the 2009 American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA), to be the better investment in creating quick ready-to-go jobs in rail projects, and much more effective than stimulus dollars spent on highway and over-pass work. These resulting studies further recognize the importance in addressing the fact that two-thirds of our oil consumption and one-third of our global warming pollution comes directly from the amount of vehicle miles driven in this country.  The Senate should take this bill up later in January, and NARVRE therefore supports and joins with other rail passenger groups, in asking our members to CONTACT THE SENATE, and ask their  Senators to support this robust funding for rail transportation contained in H.R. 2847.  

All railroad retirement annuitants should have received the notice from the RRB explaining that there will not be a cost-of-living increase in monthly benefits, therefore, by law, there will no increase in benefits in 2010.  Additionally, this notice contains the January payment you will receive, listing federal taxes withheld and other deductions, including your Medicare Part B premium.  Most premiums will remain the same as in 2009, at $96.40.  However, some premiums will be increased depending on an individual's or married couple's modified adjusted gross income.  Those figures and related information can be seen at www.rrb.gov, or if need be, you can (and should) contact the RRB toll-free @ 1-877-772-5772 if you have questions.   

 Medicare fraud is still running rampant, with figures reaching $100 billion (that's with a "B").  Medicare is a $450 billion, 44 million-beneficiary system, and they need our help.  We all need to examine our Medicare Summary Notices, and report any medical claims that are not related to your medical care.  Many of the fraudulent claims are due to identity theft of medical information, which we would want to know about, as well.  Any errors, such as double billings, should also be reported.  This information can be found on the back of the Medicare Notices we receive regarding medical charges (claims).  Indictments and prosecutions have increased since the Obama Administration created a multi-agency Medicare Fraud Task Force in 2009 to combat this problem